Vortex Viper HD Bincoulars and Spotting Scope Review, by Glendon Mullins

[binoman]

I just had the following 10x42s side by side outside for a comparison. The Vipers, Zeiss Terras, Nikon Monarch 7s, Leupold BX4s.

The Nikons were a surprise. I liked the clarity and brightness a lot. But felt the focus wheel was a bit sloppy and was unsure on customer service. Regarding the Leupolds....dual bridge designs don't feel comfortable in my hands. The glass, diopter adjustment, and focus wheel felt good with good range of motion.

That left me to choose between the Vipers and Terras. The glass on the Terras was very good IMO. Clarity, sharpness, and brightness all were a step up that the Leupolds Im replacing. The Vipers were about the same but I felt the color/whites "popped" a little more than the Terras. Ive had this expierence before looking through Vortex optics. The image always seem to pop more to my eyes, even compared to my NF scopes.

I ended up with the Vipers. It was a tough call, but the performance between them all was so close. It came down to how they all felt in my hands, how much travel the focus wheels had, and warranty.

Once I settled don the Vipers I decided to compare them to the Razors and Zeiss Conquests. Jumping from $500 to $1000 glass made a difference. The Razors were shockingly light to hold which I liked. The glass on the Conquests was fantastic. If I had an extra $500 laying around I think I would of ended up with those.

Thanks for the review. Curious how you found the Leupold bx4 compared to the viper, optically that is?

 

[JigStick]

I thought they were very similar. The BX4s felt more compact. But Ive never liked holding binos with dual bridges. Which pretty much eliminated the Leupys right out of the gate.

 

[McCormack]

I just had the following 10x42s side by side outside for a comparison. The Vipers, Zeiss Terras, Nikon Monarch 7s, Leupold BX4s.

The Nikons were a surprise. I liked the clarity and brightness a lot. But felt the focus wheel was a bit sloppy and was unsure on customer service. Regarding the Leupolds....dual bridge designs don't feel comfortable in my hands. The glass, diopter adjustment, and focus wheel felt good with good range of motion.

That left me to choose between the Vipers and Terras. The glass on the Terras was very good IMO. Clarity, sharpness, and brightness all were a step up that the Leupolds Im replacing. The Vipers were about the same but I felt the color/whites "popped" a little more than the Terras. Ive had this expierence before looking through Vortex optics. The image always seem to pop more to my eyes, even compared to my NF scopes.

I ended up with the Vipers. It was a tough call, but the performance between them all was so close. It came down to how they all felt in my hands, how much travel the focus wheels had, and warranty.

Once I settled don the Vipers I decided to compare them to the Razors and Zeiss Conquests. Jumping from $500 to $1000 glass made a difference. The Razors were shockingly light to hold which I liked. The glass on the Conquests was fantastic. If I had an extra $500 laying around I think I would of ended up with those.

Thanks for the comparison. You mentioned the lightness of the Razors, and I agree because that's the first thing I noticed about the 10X42 Razors that I tried out in Vortex's showroom. The Razors are light and comfortable and if I had a grand to spend those would be my choice.

In regard to the Vipers, I've had a couple of chances to audtition them and they're great binoculars, but I recently bought a pair of Hawke Frontier ED X's and to my eyes they're a touch better than the Vipers and cost a little less as well. If I were planning on at some point upgrading I would buy the Vipers because I believe they have a better resale value, but if I knew I was going to hang onto them for a while I'd recommend buying the Frontiers because they cost less and are a bit better optically.

 

[Hancock Armory]

Awesome! ~

 

[GMiller]

Hey fellow roksilders,

As most of you know I done my first Western Big Game Hunt this year in Eastern Montana. We were hunting Mule Deer and had great success and a great time. Robby Denning hooked me up with the 2018 Vortex Viper HD Binoculars and Spotting Scope that he done some work on last spring. He thought these would be a great choice for my eastern Montana hunt. They were! I truly couldn't have done the hunt without them.

I am working on the final review for the website and it should be up soon. This thread is for any questions you have regarding the review and/or the optics themselves! I'll also be posting up some additional photographs and info etc. as the thread progresses, thanks!

​

Hey fellow roksilders,

As most of you know I done my first Western Big Game Hunt this year in Eastern Montana. We were hunting Mule Deer and had great success and a great time. Robby Denning hooked me up with the 2018 Vortex Viper HD Binoculars and Spotting Scope that he done some work on last spring. He thought these would be a great choice for my eastern Montana hunt. They were! I truly couldn't have done the hunt without them.

I am working on the final review for the website and it should be up soon. This thread is for any questions you have regarding the review and/or the optics themselves! I'll also be posting up some additional photographs and info etc. as the thread progresses, thanks!

​

Great review, very helpful